In the end, it simply doesn’t matter and everyone can laugh about Amari Cooper’s quarterbacking prowess.
Even the Cleveland Browns‘ star wide receiver laughed at himself, calling the trick play “an abomination.”
But at the time, it was no laughing matter.
Cleveland and Cincinnati were locked in a scoreless battle where each team already made mistakes.
"I'm just going to stick to getting open" 😂
Amari Cooper was trying to throw the ball away on his INT and has a new level of respect for Jacoby Brissett and all QB's. #Browns pic.twitter.com/h7d7R1LLuC
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) November 1, 2022
And every fan knew it was going to be a bad idea for Cooper to attempt a pass as a defender bore down on him.
To be fair, he hit a player in the numbers, even if the numbers were the wrong color.
And to see Michael Woods wide open further downfield only made the abomination more… abominable.
But at least Cooper could have a little fun with it after the Browns’ dominant victory over their in-state rivals.
New Respect For Quarterbacks
Cooper has certainly wondered many times over the years how a quarterback could fail to deliver the ball to him
But now he has a newfound respect for Jacoby Brissett and other NFL passers.
As he told the Browns press corps after the game:
“It kept running through my mind, ‘If he’s not open, just throw it away.’ But I didn’t realize how hard it (is) to throw the ball away, because that’s what I tried to do. Like I was trying to get the ball back to the line of scrimmage and I looked up, and it was in the other guy’s hands,” adding with a sheepish grin, “It was terrible.”
Von Bell was covering the Browns’ receiver but fell off as a safety desperately tried to race over on the zone coverage.
Amari Cooper just threw the worst interception I ever seen pic.twitter.com/GXT8szZphQ
— Overtime (@overtime) November 1, 2022
Woods was wide open for a while, set up for a potentially huge play.
But Bell was in a better position for the easy interception on Cooper’s short delivery.
There was no word on what fantasy football players thought about the 2-point deduction for the pick.
Out Of The Playbook
Cleveland and Kevin Stefanski are no strangers to seeing their wide receivers passing the ball.
Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham prided themselves on their throwing skills almost as much as their receiving prowess.
But it is safe to say Amari Cooper will not be asked to throw any more passes this year.
In fact, Jacoby Brissett says he immediately tore the page with Cooper’s throw out of the playbook.
I still can’t get over this Amari Cooper catch pic.twitter.com/d4ZuJPopN1
— Offseason Chopz (@Pchopz_) November 1, 2022
And Cooper says he’ll concentrate on getting open instead of throwing the ball.
Cooper otherwise had a banner day in the Browns’ 32-13 victory.
And his stellar, reaching grab of a 53-yard bomb from Brissett almost knocked his passing misadventure out of the conversation.
Overall, his 5 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown had a bigger impact and are what he’ll try to repeat each week.
NEXT: Studs & Duds From The Browns Win Over The Bengals
